Africa is not leapfrogging… and should not!!!

Africa is leapfrogging! An expression often used to describe Africa technological innovation. I used it many times myself. But reflecting on the continent’s technology imperatives, I wonder if this is the right term to describe the state of Africa’s technology today and for the future. 

Leapfrogging assumes a linear progression where steps are skipped to reach a more advanced stage. It assumes that Africa is following an existing path and jumping to more advanced technologies. First, there is no single path to innovation and while Africa has an opportunity to overcome some infrastructure challenges, it is barely using advanced technologies. Feature phones, although on the decline, are still dominant. Mpesa is after all a simple USSD solution. Native African apps are few. Drones and renewable energy are still in their infancies. AI and robotics are almost inexistent. Second, Leapfrogging implies a copy/paste model. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The VC investment and traditional start-up scaling models which are used to fuel western innovations are still to be proven in Africa. The regulatory and legal environment for innovation has also seen little change in most countries. Finally, the adjustment in the education system to produce the much needed talent and research is still to come. 

What is true, however, is that African consumers are increasingly open and willing to adopt new technologies to solve their problems. This, in my opinion, is the most important trend in the African tech space. 

Africa’s technological future needs not look like the US FANG (Facebook,  Apple, Netflix, Google) or the tightly integrated China ecosystem of Alibaba. To be effective, It should be rooted in the specifics of African markets and cultures. It should aim at making full use of mobile, AI, IoT, Cloud, VR/AR, bots, drones or whatever is next to develop unique solutions addressing the most pressing African consumers, businesses and governments needs. That, to me, is not just leapfrogging. It is defining the African path in the global digital revolution!